(London / Great Britain) – London will only buy zero-emission buses for its local public transport. The mayor of the British capital Sadiq Khan has ordered the city's transport authority (Transport for London, TfL) to build a 2034 percent emission-free bus fleet in London by 100; previously this target was for 2037.
Ten percent of London's bus network will be emission-free by the end of 2022, Sadiq Khan announced. TfL already operates or has commissioned 950 zero-emission buses. The abolition of diesel vehicles will save four million tons of carbon by 2037. The change could also be brought forward to 2030 - but only with government funding. It would then be possible to save another million tonnes.
Road transport is the largest single source of air pollution in the capital, responsible for around half of all emissions of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM). Transport also causes a quarter of London's carbon emissions. TfL's bus fleet has already led the way in making existing diesel buses as clean as possible - but it will go further and switch entirely to environmentally friendly electric and hydrogen power to eliminate air pollutants and carbon dioxide.
London accounts for up to 50 percent of all new bus orders in the UK each year, according to a statement from the city council. Increasing the total number of buses in the capital would also secure around 3.000 jobs. Alexander Dennis Ltd. is mentioned by name. (ADL) in Scarborough, the largest British bus manufacturer and the world's largest manufacturer of double-decker buses, as well as the manufacturer of electrically powered commercial vehicles Switch Mobility near Leeds and Wrightbus in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, which already has hydrogen-powered double-decker buses in its range.
The announcement of the move away from diesel buses comes on the occasion of the “Zero-emission Bus Summit”, which the mayor invited to the town hall and which was organized by the Campaign for Better Transport and TfL. Representatives of local authorities, bus operators, bus manufacturers and other interest groups met there.
deep link
https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-host-zero-emission-bus-summit-at-city-hall
Photos
ADL is the world's largest manufacturer of double-deck buses. / © Alexander Dennis Ltd.
